Experience Research

Why partner with apc for your research needs?

Research Services That Drive Better Experiences

At apc, we specialize in capturing insights that improve the way people interact with your brand — whether they’re your customers, employees, or users. With over 28 years of experience, we deliver research that is actionable, accurate, and designed to fuel measurable results. Research that reveals the truth behind behavior — so you can create experiences that retain customers, engage employees, and outperform competitors. Whether you need deep insight into your service delivery, brand perception, or employee culture, our team delivers data you can trust and act on.

Research That Goes Beyond the Basics

  • Proven Track Record: Trusted by leading banks, credit unions, retailers, and service organizations for nearly three decades.
  • CX/EX/UX Expertise: Deep knowledge of financial services, healthcare, retail, and government sectors.
  • End-to-End Partnership: From strategy to execution, we serve as an extension of your team — not just a vendor.
  • Fast Turnaround, No Compromise on Quality: Our QA team maintains a <1% error rate across thousands of projects annually.
  • Customized Dashboards & Reports: Data is delivered in formats your stakeholders can understand and act on — from executives to front-line leaders.

Data that speaks clearly — and drives decisions. Get the full story with well-designed surveys and mystery shops built to uncover the truth. From NPS tracking to pulse checks to deep-dive custom studies, our tools deliver statistically sound and strategically relevant findings. We design research studies that cut through the noise.

Employee Engagement Survey

Customer Experience (CX) Research

Turn Customer Feedback into Strategic Advantage

We help you see your organization through the eyes of your customers. Our CX research tools — from transactional surveys to longitudinal studies — identify what’s working, what’s broken, and where to focus your efforts to improve loyalty, satisfaction, and lifetime value. Understand your customer journey across every touchpoint. We uncover moments of friction and delight so you can optimize the experience and increase loyalty.

  • NPS®, CSAT & post-interaction surveys
  • Journey mapping & pain point analysis
  • Segmented insights by channel, product, or region
  • Executive-ready reporting with clear recommendations
  • Custom survey design & deployment
  • Multi-channel delivery (email, SMS, web, phone)
  • Advanced data segmentation and cross-tabulation

Employee Experience (EX) Research

Build a Workplace Where People Want to Stay — and Thrive

Your employees are the heart of your brand. Through confidential surveys and strategic insights, we help you understand morale, motivation, and culture to improve engagement and retention. Engaged employees deliver better service. Our EX-research uncovers the drivers of satisfaction, burnout, retention, and culture. We design and deploy surveys that go beyond surface-level sentiment to help you build a stronger internal brand.

Experience Research
  • Anonymous culture, climate & engagement surveys
  • Onboarding, exit, and lifecycle assessments
  • DEI and leadership perception studies
  • Benchmarking
  • Custom survey design & deployment
  • Multi-channel delivery (email, SMS, web, phone)
Experience Research

User Experience (UX) Research

Optimize Every Click, Tap, and Interaction

Our UX research evaluates how real users interact with your systems, interfaces, mobile apps and websites. We identify what works, what doesn’t, and why. From digital platforms to physical touchpoints, our UX research uncovers how real users interact with your systems and services — and where friction is getting in the way. We test, observe, and listen to help you build experiences that are intuitive, inclusive, and high-converting.

  • Usability testing (remote and live)
  • Mobile and desktop experience evaluation
  • Task success and satisfaction metrics
  • Voice of the user reports
  • Custom survey design & deployment
  • Multi-channel delivery (email, SMS, web, phone)
  • Advanced data segmentation and cross-tabulation

Mystery Shop Studies

Get a Reality Check on Your Service — Exactly as it’s Delivered

Evaluate service, compliance, and brand standards in real-time. Our nationwide network of expert shoppers captures unbiased, detail-rich data on actual experiences — online, in-branch, by phone, and more. With one of the most robust mystery shopping networks in the U.S., we provide objective, detail-rich evaluations of your service and compliance standards. Whether it’s in-branch, by phone, online, or in-app, we capture authentic customer interactions from start to finish.

Experience Research
  • Compliance-focused and brand experience shops
  • Roleplay, scripted, and scenario-based visits
  • In person, online, mobile app, telephone
  • Real-time dashboards with verbatim feedback and scoring
Experience Research

Online Focus Groups

Real Conversations. Real Insights. Real Time.

We design and moderate online focus groups that uncover the “why” behind customer and employee behaviors. These virtual sessions bring together carefully selected participants to share honest feedback, perceptions, and preferences — all from the comfort of their own space. Whether you’re launching a new product, evaluating a service experience, or exploring unmet needs, our online focus groups deliver rich qualitative insights to guide your strategy.

  • Expert Moderation: Our seasoned moderators are skilled in building rapport, asking the right questions, and digging deeper — even in virtual settings.
  • Targeted Recruitment: We help you find the right voices for your audience — current users, lost customers, prospects, or employees — and ensure diversity in every group.
  • Flexible Formats: From 30-minute mini-groups to 90-minute deep dives, we structure sessions to fit your timeline and research goals.
  • Insight-Rich Reporting: Beyond transcripts, we provide thematic analysis, key takeaways, and highlight reels to help you share the story internally and act on findings.
  • Seamless Technology: We use secure, user-friendly platforms that make participation easy and allow for interactive tools like polls, screen shares, and whiteboards.